Sponsors (2)
The bill creates a resourced, bipartisan Select Committee to study and recommend election reforms—potentially improving representation and coordination—while concentrating investigatory power, risking majority control and federalization of state election rules, and imposing costs and uncertainty without guaranteeing enacted changes.
Voters, state and local governments, and taxpayers gain a resourced Select Committee with staffed support, subpoena/oversight authorities, and a one-year reporting deadline to study House electoral rules and recommend reforms.
Voters could gain more representative electoral choices if Congress considers multi-member, proportional, or ranked-choice systems and provides clearer legal guidance for states to experiment.
Federal employees and Members of the House have clearer, more predictable rules for appointing, replacing, and co-leading the Select Committee, improving prospects for bipartisan cooperation and reducing procedural disputes.
Voters, state and local governments face uncertainty because the bill leaves membership, specific duties, and duration vague while preserving the Speaker's final appointment authority, enabling majority dominance in practice.
Voters and states may face politicized federal intervention and sustained uncertainty about representation if the committee's work leads to proposals to change single-member districts or the size/rules of the House.
Taxpayers could face higher federal administrative costs from new staffing, hearings, and interim funding and the committee's work may divert House staff time from other business without guaranteeing enacted reforms.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 14-member House Select Committee to study congressional election methods and federal barriers, and report recommendations within one year.
Introduced January 7, 2025 by Marie Gluesenkamp Perez · Last progress January 7, 2025
Creates a 14-member House Select Committee on Electoral Reform to study how Members of the House are elected and to recommend changes. The committee will investigate alternatives such as multi-member districts and proportional representation, ranked-choice and other voting methods, fusion voting, open primaries, independent redistricting, and federal legal barriers to state experimentation, hold hearings with experts and officials, and deliver a final report with recommendations within one year of its first meeting. The committee may use House staff services, receive interim funding, cannot take legislative action, and is terminated 30 days after filing its final report.